Minister Icyang Parod of the Council of Indigenous Peoples attended the Repatriation Ceremony for Mudan Incident Remains at the Museum of Archaeology, Tainan Branch of NMP, on November 6.

Minister Icyang's full speech is as follows:

On November 3, Deputy Minister Calivat and Paiwan tribal members conducted a repatriation ceremony in the UK, where the University of Edinburgh officially returned the remains of Mudan Incident's tribal warriors. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport yesterday at around 6 pm, the remains were housed at the Museum of Archaeology, Tainan Branch of NMP, in the early hours of today. This marks the first instance of Taiwan's indigenous society requesting the international repatriation of ancestral remains, carrying significant historical significance and serving as a crucial milestone in indigenous historical justice and transitional justice.

The Mudan Incident of 1874 saw the deaths of numerous Mudan tribal warriors, with the Japanese army taking 12 sets of remains back to Japan. In November 2019, Professor Chen Yao-chang published a thesis stating that four sets of Mudan tribal remains were held at the University of Edinburgh. In December the following year, the Council of Indigenous Peoples commissioned Professor Hu Chuan-an of National Central University to conduct an investigation, confirming the presence of the four sets of remains at the University of Edinburgh.

Adhering to Articles 11, 12, and 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Council of Indigenous Peoples emphasized the right of indigenous peoples to demand the return of remains and the responsibility of nations to ensure effective mechanisms for repatriation. In November 2021, I wrote a letter to the University of Edinburgh formally requesting the repatriation, and in July the following year, the Vice President of the University of Edinburgh replied, agreeing to the repatriation of the remains.

This is the first time that the Council of Indigenous Peoples has hosted an international repatriation involving Taiwan. Since domestic administrative agencies had not experienced this before, the core spirit of this repatriation was to respect the traditions and wishes of the Mudan community. The roles of government administrative agencies, museums, and the academic community as facilitating partners helped establish a platform for negotiation and communication, leading to a satisfactory arrangement. After three years and multiple rounds of negotiation and communication, a consensus has finally been reached.

Special thanks to Mudan Township Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Customs Administration, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Culture, the Museum of Archaeology, Tainan Branch of NMP, Dr. Chen Yao-chang, and Professor Hu Chuan-an. Through everyone's collective efforts, we can successfully bring back the remains of Paiwan tribe members from Mudan before the 150th anniversary of the Mudan Incident next year. This action demonstrates that academic institutions and museums, guided by the spirit of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, can collaborate by reflecting on historical injustices. Through tangible actions like repatriation, we aim to foster a greater emphasis on the human rights of indigenous peoples in global society.